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NHL Lockout 2012: NHL Proposes New Offer, Significant Movement

Some fantastic news for you all this afternoon, as the NHL and the NHLPA broke off talks after just a couple of hours. The good news? The NHL gave a new offer, and it’s a significant one.

The NHL offered a new CBA of an unknown length (I’m sure the details will be released soon) consisting of the following (note, all the information hasn’t been released yet, so some things will be missing):

– A 50/50 split for the life of the CBA.

– To compensate for the lowered share for the players, the CBA protects the players salaries (who are already under contract) from being reduced. It’s still unknown how, to this point, that will happen.

– The CBA protects the 82-game schedule, starting the season November 2nd. This is vital, because it keeps the size of the pie the same.

– Speaking of the pie … Rumors are that the HRR definition is the same as it was in the previous CBA.

– The deal also includes five-year max contracts, players have to be 28-years-old or eight years of service before UFA status, arbitration would still exist and ELC’s would be four three years in length. (UPDATE: New reports claim ELC deals stay the same. So three years for them).

Donald Fehr told the media he needs to speak to the members of the Union before the NHLPA can formally respond. Fehr will talk to the players today at 5 p.m. and expects to respond on Wednesday.

I doubt this offer gets taken as it is, but it should easily be negotiated off of. And, to be honest, the two sides can’t be that far apart now. Give Bettman and the owners some credit here, they didn’t have to make the next move, but they did. Sure, it should have come a lot sooner, but it’s better than nothing.

For now, thoughts guys?

Talking Points